The PGA Championship has a unique identity among golf majors, marked by memorable moments and high-profile winners. Recent highlights include Phil Mickelson's historic win in 2021 and Brooks Koepka's triumph in 2023.
Key points
PGA Championship has a distinct identity among golf majors
Phil Mickelson won in 2021 as the oldest major champion
Brooks Koepka won in 2023 as the first LIV golfer to win a major
First PGA Championship held in 1916 won by Jim Barnes
PGA's prestige has increased with high-profile winners
With the PGA settled into its new May spot on the calendar, there remain moments in its history that feel just so, well, PGA like. Weâd argue they give the championship a character that the rest of the majors might actually envyâmoments of humor and levity that have an appealing, letâs-not-take-ourselves-too-seriously feel. These moments deserve commemoration as well.
1916, Siwanoy Country Club
The first PGA Championship isnât the brainchild of Americaâs nascent golf cognoscenti, but rather of a department-store magnate. And the prize Rodman Wanamaker helped procure for the winner isnât some simple loving cup, but a 27-pound behemoth that seemingly would be hard to misplace (unless youâre Walter Hagen). If the PGAâs start wasnât obscure enough, who would win the PGA of Americaâs new event? An Englishman, Jim Barnes.
More on the PGA Championship
Q&A
What are the most memorable moments in PGA Championship history?
Memorable moments include Phil Mickelson becoming the oldest major champion in 2021 and Brooks Koepka winning in 2023 as the first LIV golfer to claim a major.
Who won the first PGA Championship and when?
The first PGA Championship was won by Englishman Jim Barnes in 1916.
How has the PGA Championship's prestige changed over the years?
The PGA Championship's prestige has increased recently due to high-profile winners and dramatic finishes, making it a significant event in the golf calendar.
What notable incidents have occurred at the PGA Championship?
Notable incidents include Scottie Scheffler's bizarre arrest in 2024 and his five-shot victory at Quail Hollow the previous year.
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Jock Hutchinson gets a measure of revenge for losing in the final of the inaugural PGA in 1916 by winning four years later at Flossmoor Country Club outside Chicago. Never mind that he wasnât actually in the field initially, but when two players dropped out late, Hutchinson got the call.
1927, Cedar Crest Country Club
Walter Hagen has become synonymous with the PGA Championship by winning the event five times from 1921-â27. En route to his last victory at Cedar Crest Country Club in Dallas, he couldnât help but employ some ahead-of-its-time gamesmanship, repeatedly conceding putts early in the semifinal tilt against Al Espinosa and the finals against Joe Turnesa, only to force his opponents to make the putts late in each match. Golf mindgames are officially born.
walter-hagen-driving.jpg
walter-hagen-driving.jpg
Hulton Archive
1928, Five Farms Country Club
Hagen finally loses the PGA, but the bigger story might be that he has lost the Wanamaker Trophy. Literally. After being beaten by Leo Diegel in the quarterfinals at Five Farms outside Baltimore, ending a run of four straight victories in the event, it surfaces that the Haig actually has misplaced the trophy, claiming he had given it to a driver to deliver to his hotel after an earlier victory. The PGA of America is forced to eventually make a replacement, but two years later, workmen going through boxes at a Detroit sporting-goods warehouse found the trophy in a sealed leather case.
Ben Hogan opts not to play in the PGA, heading instead to the Open Championship, the one and only time heâd cross the Atlantic to play in the event. By doing so, he is forced to skip playing in the PGA because boat travel would make it nearly impossible to get back in time. Sure enough, he wins the claret jug at Carnoustie, after having won the Masters and U.S. Open earlier in the year, compiling one of the greatest major championship seasons ever. And Walter Burkemo becomes the answer to the trivia question of who won the yearâs other major, taking the PGA title at Birmingham (Mich.) Country Club.
1957, Miami Valley Golf Club
The most distinguishing feature of the PGA Championship is that the event is a match-play competition for its first 41 years. But when Lionel Hebert beats Dow Finsterwald in the final at Miami Valley Golf Club in Dayton, Ohio, the PGA of America lost money on the event and decided that it was in its best long-term interests to switch to 72-hole stroke-play format starting the next year.
Arnold Palmer is the first player to shoot four rounds in the 60s in a major championship, yet finishes tied for second behind Bobby Nichols at Columbus (Ohio) C.C. Itâs one of three times Palmer would finish runner-up in the PGA, never winning the tournament that would have capped the career Grand Slam despite making the most starts of any player in its history (37).
1968, Pecan Valley Country Club
While playing in wilting July heat in San Antonio, a 48-year-old emerges as the winner at Pecan Valley. Julius Boros becomes the oldest golfer ever to claim a major championship title, a distinction he would hold for more than 50 years.
PGA of America Archive
PGA of America Archive
PGA of America
1987, PGA National
The PGA is played at PGA National ⊠in South Florida ⊠in August. Maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time, and itâs not like the championship hadnât been played in hot weather previously (see Boros). Still the result was a winning score of 287, the highest at the PGA by five strokes. Golf Digestâs Dan Jenkins described the conditions this way: âA month before the championship the greens were struggling in the humidity to be 80 percent bent and 20 percent Bermuda, but then they were kidnapped by a strange fungus. By tournament time they were 80 percent dirt, 10 percent wire and 10 percent herpes.â
1991, Crooked Stick Golf Club
John Daly, the ninth alternate in the field at Crooked Stick Golf Club, drives through the night after being informed heâs gotten into the championship, then storms the field in Indianapolis to win. In the euphoria of Dalyâs out-of-nowhere win, America is introduced to the golf mullet.
Instead of preparing on the range for a potential playoff at Louisvilleâs Valhalla Golf Club, Kentucky native Kenny Perry watches the final groups come in from the CBS TV booth. He promptly loses said playoff to Mark Brooks on the first hole of sudden death. An entire state goes into mourning.
2002, Hazeltine National Golf Club
Rich Beem clinches his first major title at Hazeltine National. As much as he will remember his performance over the 72 holes, the collective golf audience remembers the best hula dance from a major winner since the days of Hagen.
2003, Oak Hill Country Club
Shaun Micheel wins the PGA with one of the most memorable shots in the championshipâs history, a 7-iron to two inches on the 18th at Oak Hill. Making the victory all the more amazing is the fact it was his lone PGA Tour win and one of just two top-20 finishes he would ever post in 35 major championship starts (the other being a runner-up at the 2006 PGA).
PGA Championship 2003
PGA Championship 2003
Darren Carroll
2005, Baltusrol Golf Club
Bad weather at New Jerseyâs Baltusrol Golf Club forces a handful of players to come back on Monday to complete the championship. Yet the clubhouse leader at the end of Sunday, Tiger Woods, decided to fly home anyway, presumably believing the players still on the course who were in front of him on the leaderboard weren't going to fall back on Monday. Sure enough, Phil Mickelson didn't.
Speaking of Tiger, Woods claims the fourth of his four PGA Championship titles at Southern Hills. Heâs paired on the final day with Luke Donald, who infamously decides to wear a red shirt despite knowing Woodsâ color of choice for Sundays. By the second hole, Donald is regretting the decision.
2010, Whistling Straits
Dustin Johnson may one day win the Wanamaker Trophy, although time is starting to run out on the 41-year-old. Until then, heâll be remembered for having unwittingly lost the title at Whistling Straits when, leading by one stroke, he hits his drive on the 72nd hole right into a sandy area where spectators had been standing. He then mistakenly grounds his club before hitting his second shot, unaware that the spot is considered a bunker. He taps in for a bogey 5 and thinks heâll be in playoff, only to have a PGA of America official explain his mistake, give him a two-stroke penalty and drop him into a tie for fifth place.
PGA Championship - Final Round
PGA Championship - Final Round
Sam Greenwood
2014, Valhalla Golf Club
Wet weather plagues the final round at Valhalla as the final groups race daylight to try to finish. Rory McIlroy holds off Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler but only after they let him tee off on the 18th hole while theyâre in the fairway and hit his approach shot while they were still on the green so that he can finish the round and not have to return the next morning.
2016, Baltusrol Golf Club
A return to Baltusrol brings more bad weather, forcing officials to finish the third round and play the fourth round on Sunday. Circumstances are such that the PGA of America agrees to allow golfers to play under âlift, clean and placeâ rules in the fairway in the final round, which is believed to be the first time âpreferred liesâ had been OKâd in a major.
2017, Quail Hollow Club
PGA of America officials adopt a policy found on the European Tour and allow players to wear shorts during practice rounds. Given the hot, humid conditions at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., several participants jump at the chance. âI donât recognize some of these guys out here,â joked Lucas Glover, âand Iâm sure they probably donât recognize me either."
jimmy-walker-2017-pga-championship-shorts.jpg
jimmy-walker-2017-pga-championship-shorts.jpg
Warren Little
2019, Bethpage Black
PGA of America officials approve a medical exemption under the Americans with Disabilities Act that allows former champion John Daly, who suffers from osteroarthritis in his right knee, to use a golf cart during this yearâs PGA at Bethpage. Itâs the first time since 2012 that a competitor at a major will use a cart (Casey Martin was allowed to ride during the U.S. Open at Olympic Club). The irony behind the PGA of Americaâs decision: Bethpage Black is a walking-only course for the public.
2021, Kiawah Island
This year's championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island will be remembered as the time where Phil Mickelson held off a charge from Brooks Koepka to, at age 50, break Boros' record as the oldest major championship winner. But if not for that accomplishment, it might have been overshadowed as the place that launched on of golf's all-time craziest memesâand rekindled an epic rivalry between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau that dominanted golf headlines for the rest of the year.
Nothing was exactly what it seemed at Southern Hills, which wasn't even supposed to be the host course for the championship, the PGA of America electing to move to Tulsa rather than play as scheduled at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol. The looming spector of the official launch of the LIV Golf circuit was the talk of pre-tournament press conferences. The defending champion, Mickelson, was AWOL in the wake of his controversial comments about his soon to be Saudi bosses. Oh, and instead of blast furance temperatures similar to the last time Southern Hills hosted in August 2007, weekend rounds were played in the 60s.
2024, Valhalla Golf Club
Record low scores at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., gave the 106th PGA Championship a different feel, with Xander Schauffele posting a 18-hole-best 62 and winning by a shot after shooting a 72-hole record 21-under 263. But it was a Friday morning incident that might be as well remembered when World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was arrested when he allegedly swerved into opposing traffic to bypass backed-up vehicles. A detective named Bryan Gillis attempted to stop him, but claimed Scheffler "refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging [the officer] to the ground." Gillis reported suffering "pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee" and was taken to a hospital. Scheffler meanwhile was handcuffed and taken to a Louisville police station. Released on bail shortly afterward, he managed to return to the course and play in the second roundâhaving begun his pre-round warm-up in a jail cell. Somehow he posted a top-10 finish despite the choatic episode. Video of the incident at times contradicted the police reports, and within 16 days all the charges were dismissed.
2025, Quail Hollow Club
After winning the Masters the previous month to complete his long sought career Grand Slam, McIlroy was the heavy favorite to claim the PGA at Quail Hollow, a course he had previously won four times. But McIlroy looked out of sorts quickly into the first round and struggled to get comfortable. The reason, at least in part, came out on Friday when news outlets reported that McIlroy's driver had been tested during the practice rounds and ruled non-conforming as wear and tear from use had changed its CT number, affecting the trampoline effect of the clubface. McIlroy refused to talk to the media after play began, so it was never known how big a deal losing his driver actually was as he went on to finish in XXth place. One other player, however, faced a similar issue and didn't seem to let it affect him: Going five under on his last five holes Saturday, Scottie Scheffler raced to a lead that was to big for anyone to catch up, claiming the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday by five shots. Afterward, it was revealed he, too, had his driver tested early in the week and taken out of his bag for being non-conforming.
